Graham Reilly predicts Meath will have too much firepower for Wicklow to handle in the battle of Aughrim.

The counties collide in the Leinster SFC quarter-final tomorrow and the carrot is a last four clash against Wexford.

The Royals are favourites to progress but even without Leighton Glynn, Wicklow have already toppled fancied Longford at their home ground – the venue for famous victories in the past.

“Aughrim is a tough place to go to,” acknowledged Reilly, who has moved from midfield to wing-forward under new Meath boss Mick O’Dowd.

“We’ve been there already in the League and won comfortably enough.

“But it’s going to be nothing like that this time. We’re expecting to face a much more physical, stronger team.

“They have physical men all over the park but if we can move the ball at real pace, I really don’t think they can handle us up front. We have too much for them.

“If we match their intensity then we have the footballers to beat them. But we need to match that.

“But if we let them in – let them get that strong crowd behind them – it’ll be very difficult.”

Meath under O’Dowd have already gained promotion to Division Two – although they disappointed in the Division Three final.

Reilly puts part of that down to tired legs but believes the Royals are better prepared than they’ve been for years.The aim is to reach the Leinster final.

“There’s a massive gap between the rest and several teams, Donegal, Dublin, Kerry,” he said.

“We’re not naive – but the one team that Dublin do not want to play in the Leinster final is Meath.

“Hopefully now if things go our way we’ll be there with them, because I firmly believe that we should get to the final.

“If we get our stuff together and hopefully get over Wicklow, even by a point, that sets us up nicely for the semi-final.

“We don’t want to just get to a Leinster final, we want to win a Leinster title and move on.”

Reilly added: “The teams of Geraghty, Giles in the Nineties were phenomenal teams. Meath teams weren’t just known for getting to Leinster finals.

“So we’re hoping to get silverware back. We looked to get silverware in Division Three, we didn’t but we still got back to Division Two where the standard is very high.”

The Navan O’Mahonys man revealed that several Meath players were present at Wicklow’s opening victory and the message they returned with is that moving the ball “at serious pace” can hurt the Garden County.

And that’s what Meath have been working on over the past few weeks.

It’s the kind of style that Reilly himself revels in.

“The quicker the ball moves the better. I don’t really like slower ball,” he explained. “But I’m trying to vary it, Mick’s trying to get that into me, to make me a better player.

“The last couple of weeks I have been working on retaining the ball, then moving it and going again rather than trying to do it all myself.

“I have a quicker stride than most players and I can get off the shoulder and create more goal chances for other lads.”